After reading this article you will learn about the role of biofertilizers.
Biofertilizer is a boon for farmers, because it helps in increasing soil fertility. Biofertilizer involves the preparation of efficient strains of micro-organisms capable of converting atmospheric nitrogen into nitrate or dissolving phosphorus from the fixed form.
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Biofertilizers include BGA, rhizobium, azospirillum and phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSM). Bluegreen algae, used for paddy fields, increase the yield by 20-30%, by fixing nitrogen and producing growth promoting compounds. Azobactor and azospirillum, used for cereal crops can fix 20-30 kg of atmospheric nitrogen. The yield can be increased by 10-15%.
Biofertilizers improve soil texture, structure, supply of nitrients, water holding capacity and proliferate useful soil micro-organisms. Biofertilizers are cheaper, renewable and pollution free. Besides being non-toxic, biofertilizers have some distinct advantages over chemical fertilizers. Biofertilizer like blue green algae is capable of providing more nitrogen, an important nutrient for plants than all chemical fertilizers put together.
Moreover, biofertilizers ensure ecological stability to the soil. On the other hand, chemical fertilizers are toxic and pollute the water and disturb the ecological balance. This, coupled with the low purchasing power of small and marginal farmers continues to be the major concern in our agricultural production process. But biofertilizers are comparatively cheaper.
They are being priced low within the reach of the poor farmers. Production of chemical fertilizers requires the setting up of big plants involving huge investment, but a concrete tank is sufficient for the production of bluegreen algal biofertilizer.
It can provide employment to a large number of unemployed graduates, if they are given a little training. In addition to supplying fertilizers at a cheaper rate, it guarantees employment to a fairly good number of people.
Unlike chemical fertilizers, biofertilizers, especially algal, have the capacity to hold water. They are capable of concentrating nutrients such as nitrogen and scavenge sodium salt-affected soils.